受命于天 shòumìngyútiān to have the mandate of heaven Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 受命 shòumìng to receive a mandate from heaven (literary) to receive a mandate from heaven to rule于 於 yú preposition from Indicates a source, origin, or starting point; equivalent to 从 cóng or 自 zì天 tiān nounproper noun God God; Heaven; the supreme ruler of the universe in traditional belief